Companion Diagnostics Stakeholders to Gather in Washington, DC at CHI’s Next Generation Dx Summit

May 25, 2011 - PRLog -- Cambridge Healthtech Institute announces its 2nd Annual Companion Diagnostics as an Integral Part of Personalized Medicine Conference in Washington, DC on August 24-25, 2011. This conference is designed to bring together all stakeholders in the process of companion diagnostic test design, manufacturing and clinical implementation.

Targeted and tailored therapies and companion diagnostics are two pillars of personalized medicine. For diagnostics to be successfully integrated into clinical practice, several parties need to work collaboratively including a diagnostic partner, a pharmaceutical partner, as well as regulators, clinicians and, not to be forgotten in haste, patients. Genetic markers, such as Her2/Neu and BCR-ABL and genetic mutations in EGFR and KRAS are already integral parts in the design of targeted therapy for respective cancers. More and more drugs and therapeutic areas are becoming subjects for companion diagnostic test development.  

The clinical and commercial success of personalized medicine requires partnership among different stakeholders, especially pharmaceutical and diagnostics alliance. At the same time, due to differences in development risks, regulatory timeline, commercial strategy and corporate governance, it is also a challenge to optimize the partnership. Richard Ding, Vice President, Strategy and Business Development, Head of Theranostics Unit, bioMerieux will reflect on the partnerships that bioMerieux has formed with Pharmaceutical companies and highlight the important elements during the deal negotiation as well as post signature project execution

Peter Collins, Vice President, Head of Diagnostics with GlaxoSmithKline, will discuss successful strategic partnering in co-development of drugs and diagnostics. Mr. Collins has over 25 years’ experience in the diagnostics industry, specialising in personalised medicine solutions and companion diagnostics. Mr. Collins leads a compact global team focussed on supporting the personalised medicine diagnostic needs of GSK’s clinical development programs.

Additional speakers include:

Donald Berry, Head, Division of Quantitative Sciences, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Mitchell I. Burken, M.D., BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee

Michelle M. Chen, Ph.D., Director, Business Development, Translational Diagnostics, Ventana Medical Systems, Inc., A Member of the Roche Group

Franklin R. Cockerill, III, M.D., Ann and Leo Markin Professor of Microbiology & Medicine; Chair, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine; President and CEO, Mayo Medical Laboratories and Mayo Collaborative Services, Inc.

Russel K. Enns, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Chief Regulatory Officer, Cepheid

Joseph V. Ferrara, President, Boston Healthcare

Pia Gargiulo, Ph.D., Senior Director, Companion Diagnostic Partnerships, QIAGEN  

Alberto Gutierrez, Ph.D., Deputy Director, Office of In Vitro Diagnostic Device Evaluation and Safety, Food & Drug Administration

Steven Gutman, M.D., M.B.A., Associate Director of the Technical Evaluation Center for Blue Cross/Blue Shield

Marc Hartstein, Acting Director, Hospital and Ambulatory Policy Group, Center for Medicare, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (tentative)

Marc Ladanyi, M.D., William Ruane Chair in Molecular Oncology , Attending Pathologist, Molecular Diagnostics Service, Member, Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Yuling Luo, President & CEO, Advanced Cell Diagnostics, Inc.

Ann-Marie Lynch, Executive Vice President, Payment and Health Care Delivery Policy, AdvaMed

Gwen McMillin, Ph.D., Medical Director of Toxicology and Trace Elements, co-Medical Director of Pharmacogenomics, ARUP Laboratories, Associate Professor of Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine

David Mongillo, M.P.H., M.S.M., Vice President, Policy and Medical Affairs, American Clinical Laboratory Association

Stafford O’Kelly, M.B.A., President, Abbott Molecular

M. Trevor Page, M.Sc., M.B.A., Director, Corporate Business Development, Dako North America, Inc.

Charles M. (Buck) Strom, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.A.P., F.A.C.M.G., H.C.L.D., Senior Medical Director, Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute

Gregory J. Tsongalis, Ph.D., Professor of Pathology, Director of Molecular Pathology, Co-Director of the Translational Research Program and Pharmacogenomics Program, Department of Pathology, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center

Meredith Unger, Ph.D., M.B.A., Global Commercial Leader, Companion Diagnostics Center of Excellence, Johnson & Johnson

Shane Weber, Ph.D., Director, Diagnostics, Molecular Medicine, Pfizer Global

Those that register by June 3 will save up to $350.

To register and view the full agenda, visit http://www.NextGenerationDx.com/cdd

To inquire about sponsorship/exhibit opportunities, contact Joseph Vacca at 781-972-5431, jvacca@healthtech.com.

Writers and editors are invited to attend.  To request a press pass, email tfielding@healthtech.com.

About Cambridge Healthtech Institute (http://www.chicorporate.com)

Cambridge Healthtech Institute (CHI) is the preeminent life science network for leading researchers and business experts from top pharmaceutical, biotech and academic organizations. CHI’s portfolio of products includes Cambridge Healthtech Institute Conferences, Insight Pharma Reports, Barnett International, Cambridge Marketing Consultants, Cambridge Meeting Planners and Cambridge Healthtech’s Media Group, which includes numerous e-newsletters as well as Bio-IT World magazine.

Founded in 1992, Cambridge Healthtech Institute strives to develop quality information sources that provide valuable new insights and competing points of view while offering balanced coverage of the latest developments. Basic research related to commercial implications is covered, with heavy emphasis placed on end-user insights into new products and technology as well as coverage on the strategy behind the business.

Contact:
James Prudhomme
Cambridge Healthtech Institute
781-972-5400
jprudhomme@healthtech.com
http://www.NextGenerationDx.com/cdd